Prep Your Home for Winter
These tips to fix gaps, cracks and inefficiencies will make your home more affordable in cold weather. Here are a few tips...
1. Install weatherstripping
Check your home’s exterior doors for cold air leaks. Do this from inside the house. The high-tech approach is to use a laser infrared thermal gun to detect cold drafts. The low-tech way is to move a lit candle around the door frame; the flame will blow toward you when there is a draft.
2. Install a door sweep
Use a door sweep to stop drafts from entering your home under an exterior door. A sweep is a flexible piece of rubber or plastic that’s held to the door’s lower edge by a strip of aluminum.
3. Seal attic air leaks
Find and seal gaps that could be allowing as much as 30% of your heated or cooled air to leak outdoors.
4. Add attic insulation
Insulation keeps warm air inside in the winter and expensively cooled air inside in the summer.
5. Install a programmable thermostat
A programmable thermostat can save up to $180 a year on fuel costs, according to EnergyStar. The thermostat can save fuel by automatically lowering (or raising) your home’s temperature while you’re away. It also keeps temperatures consistent, saving fuel.